There is growing evidence that some animals, notably dolphins and macaque monkeys, share functional parallels with human conscious metacognition — the ability to reflect upon, monitor or regulate their states of mind, says J. David Smith, Ph.D., a comparative psychologist at the University at Buffalo.

Smith explains that metacognition is a sophisticated human capacity linked to hierarchical structure in the mind (because the metacognitive executive control processes oversee lower-level cognition), to self-awareness (because uncertainty and doubt feel so personal and subjective) and to declarative consciousness (because humans are conscious of their states of knowing and can declare them to others).